Vehicles having an armrest assembly mounted to a seat assembly to provide a comfortable forearm rest for a driver and/or a passenger are well known in the art. These armrest assemblies typically pivot between a horizontal use position and a vertical storage position. Often, the armrest assembly comprises a bin defining a storage compartment and a cover hinged to the bin for covering the bin in a closed position and opening the storage compartment in an open position. The cover is hinged to the bin by a rotatable shaft mounted within or above the bin. Cupholders, writing pads, and portable phone mounts may be mounted within the storage compartment for use when the cover is opened. The storage compartment is also used for storing articles such as cassette tapes, compact discs, coins, and the like.
A latch is typically provided between the cover and the bin to maintain the cover in a latched position when the armrest is pivoted to the vertical storage position. This latch ensures that cover will not open and that the contents in the storage compartment will not fall out when the armrest is pivoted upwardly.
In certain armrest applications it is desirable to have a torsion spring coiled about the shaft for biasing the cover into the open position. The spring assists a user in opening the cover to the armrest and also assists in maintaining the cover in the open position. As can be appreciated it is important to maintain the cover in the open position when utilizing a device that is located within the bin, i.e., a writing pad, cupholder, portable phone mount or the like. These prior art spring biased covers, however, do not provide a detent with a positive locking position for the cover which maintains the cover in a desired position throughout sudden decelerations and similar driving conditions.